The final programme to be issued for the 2019/20 Premier League season was Chelsea’s ‘Project Restart’ issue, which covered their final four home fixtures against Manchester City, Watford, Norwich City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. In contrast to the joint issues produced by Sheffield United, Southampton, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Chelsea programme was only available once the season was over. This gives the programme something of a unusual status as, rather than looking ahead to the various matches, the issue provided a retrospective analysis of games that had already taken place, more in the style of a club yearbook than a matchday programme.
The programme was produced in the same style as Chelsea’s issues from earlier in the season, but with more pages – 132 instead of the usual 84. Each of Chelsea’s home games during the lockdown period was covered over seven pages, each with a two-page article called ‘Setting The Scene’, which was followed by details of the match and a beautifully designed full-page graphic of the team line-ups and formations used. There was also a two-page ‘Match Review’ from former Blue Pat Nevin, who provided a tactical analysis of the game. In addition, the away matches since the restart were covered in ‘On The Road’, with details of the result and line-ups alongside various pictures and some brief commentary.
The Chelsea issue also included many of the regular features used throughout the earlier part of the season. Among these was the concluding part of club historian Rick Glanvill’s look back 50 years to Chelsea’s first FA Cup win in the 1969/70 season. Also included was the extended article titled ‘The Journey Home’ which here looked at one supporter’s experience of following Chelsea over nearly 1,500 consecutive games. ‘Get With The Programme’ was a five-page feature that looked at each of Chelsea’s programme covers from the season, with some associated text telling the story of the image used on the cover. The issue also included the usual comprehensive coverage of each of Chelsea’s other teams, including a look at the successful season enjoyed by Chelsea Women, as well as various player features. There was a two-page feature on Blues legend Peter Bonetti, who passed away in April, as well as details of the community work undertaken by the club during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Project Restart programme is certainly impressive in terms of the amount of detail provided on all aspects of the club, and the issue demonstrates the top-class design and layout work familiar from Chelsea’s programmes from earlier in the season. For Chelsea collectors it will certainly be a welcome addition to their collections, enabling completion of this season’s set of issues. It is to be hoped though that Chelsea return to producing regular programmes for each match in the 2020/21 season, particularly bearing in mind the club’s influential role in the historical development of the football programme.